So free a formation of islands (7)
I believe the answer is:
faeroes
'islands' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are plural nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'so free a formation' is the wordplay.
'formation' indicates anagramming the letters.
'so'+'free'+'a'='sofreea'
'sofreea' is an anagram of 'FAEROES'.
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for faeroes that I've seen is " UK shipping forecast area".)
I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution?
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